Chapter 294

Bai Liang had no intention of getting deeply involved in the upcoming League of Legends All-Star event.

After all, he couldn't go help the league organize "tryouts" for those female celebrities~

One misstep and he might end up testing somewhere else.

His hands might not even be on the mouse anymore~

If something went wrong, it would be bad.

After all, some people have families to take care of.

But he did vouch for Na Zha, telling the officials that she really knew how to play.

She got into this game because of Bai Liang, wanting to play with him.

Her current skill level—not to say it's very high, but she's probably around Silver rank.

Oh right, while Meng Jie, Li Yitong, and Chen Yao were fawning over Bai's mom on the set of "The Longest Day in Chang'an," Na Zha wasn't idle.

She met Bai Liang's grandmother in Summoner's Rift almost every week.

She'd crack open voice chat and call her "Nainai" over and over, so sweetly.

Although Na Zha loved champions like Lux and Soraka, to play with her grandmother, she mostly picked a ugly Stone Golem.

She'd mastered the art of farming with that monstrous champion to perfection.

So bringing Na Zha along? No problem.

As for the others, Bai Liang said it wasn't his business—they could fend for themselves.

He was just curious: when had Yang Mi started playing League of Legends? He'd only ever seen her play Honor of Kings before.

Lots of celebrities in the entertainment industry played Honor of Kings, since you could play it on your phone—during breaks between shoots, a quick match was quite relaxing.

After all, not everyone was like Bai Liang, who had completely modified a van just to play games, and now had even bought a bigger, more expensive one—basically a mobile gaming base.

Oh right, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni was truly—damn, late but here.

This girl now had the vibe of casually passing through every corner of Bai Liang's world.

She was everywhere!

Bai Liang couldn't hold back and asked her if she really knew how to play League of Legends.

But this girl gave him a totally off-topic answer: she said she'd broken up with Jing Boren.

Bai Liang:???

He didn't get why announcing a breakup suddenly meant she could now play League of Legends.

But he checked their Weibo anyway—and realized he'd been tricked; there was no official breakup announcement!

Then Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni said, "Wait a sec~"

Wait a sec? How long?

Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni: Five, four, three, two, one.

Bai Liang:???

When she hit one, he still hadn't seen anything—he felt like a little wild boar waiting for gossip, only to be teased.

Luckily, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni kindly told him: check the studio's Weibo.

This time, Bai Liang finally got the scoop!

Both their studio Weibos posted a statement almost simultaneously.

The headline read: "To Friends Who Care About Jing Boren and Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni."

Bai Liang thought the wording was quite precise—he himself fell squarely under "friends."

The middle briefly explained they'd "decided to break up after careful consideration."

The ending was: "Thank you again for your concern, thank you~"

Polite enough, but the wording and format were far too "official"—someone unfamiliar might think it was a brand endorsement contract ending.

No wonder comments below said things like "contract couple contract expired."

Bai Liang didn't even get a chance to chat more with Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni when Miss Jing Tian's call suddenly came in.

She was frantic!

The moment the call connected, she blurted out a flood of words.

"That evil woman just announced her breakup—this is aimed right at you! You absolutely must not fall for her tricks."

"Who?" Bai Liang teased her on purpose.

"Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni! When we were promoting our movie, she doggedly followed us everywhere—she definitely has designs on you."

Here, Miss Jing Tian paused slightly, because she suddenly realized she herself had originally teamed up with Bai Liang just to cling to his coattails.

Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni's motives might be similar to hers back then.

But she didn't care!

Someone who's been caught in the rain naturally wants to tear away others' umbrellas.

Of course, it wasn't quite that extreme—Miss Jing Tian was just still bitter from their last argument.

She hated her!

Put bluntly: anyone else was fine, but not Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni!

"She's terrifying! Last time I mocked her for having a boyfriend yet still hovering around you, she immediately broke up with him—I'd never do something like that!"

"But you don't even have a boyfriend~" Bai Liang bluntly exposed her.

Boasting about something you don't even have? That's not good.

"Even if I did, I wouldn't do that! Anyway, you absolutely mustn't be fooled by her—she's definitely an evil woman!" Miss Jing Tian swore firmly.

Hmm… as for the definition of "evil woman," Bai Liang felt someone else had more authority on the matter.

"Bro~ Sister's going to officially divorce you!"

Yang Mi's voice, when deliberately exaggerated, could make anyone shiver with goosebumps and tingling skin.

For some reason, just hearing her voice, Bai Liang could almost see the scene in his mind.

Trembling, trembling~

Fortunately, though his sister was flirtatious, Bai Liang was no ordinary man.

"For me? Fine—if you two divorce, can you give me the kid?"

His words nearly fried Yang Mi's CPU.

Wait, what does this kid have to do with you? You wanna fight for custody?

Yang Mi spat dismissively, "You little brat, dare to say such nonsense? I'll record this and send it to Reba."

"Fine~ I'll raise the kid with her. How about you be the godmother?"

"Not at all! You little brat—come on, I was just teasing you. I really did plan to announce it soon, but Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni and Jing Boren beat me to it, so I've got no choice but to wait a while longer."

"Miss Yang, you're really determined to top the trending list, aren't you?"

"Exactly!" Yang Mi replied confidently: "How many times can a person get divorced in a lifetime? Even though I think my divorce would generate more heat than Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni and the others, there's no point taking that risk—and it's just impolite."

To say "impolite" was absolutely perfect!

Indeed, who suddenly shows up to steal the spotlight during someone else's wedding celebration? ~

Today's Weibo belongs to Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni and Jing Boren—they're going all out to dominate trending topics and capture traffic.

But Bai Liang vaguely remembered that this ruthless woman had never done something like this before—maybe Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni wasn't yet a direct competitor, so she couldn't be bothered to deal with her?

Bai Liang didn't care about any of this, but he offered a small suggestion:

"Getting married or divorced isn't that hard. Miss Yang, if you're so desperate to trend, consider getting married this month and divorcing next month—become the 'Eight Divorces Clan,' and you'll hit the headlines every time."

Though he didn't know when the divorce cooling-off period was introduced, Bai Liang had already thoughtfully planned it for her.

Yang Mi: "With you?"

"Not impossible~" "Get lost!" Yang Mi clearly thought Bai Liang was joking—but she was successfully amused.

"Eight Divorces Clan?" Hahaha

At the same time, Yang Mi secretly noted it down—when the All-Star Game came, she'd spray Paris Baguette perfume and see if Bai Liang could tell.

Oh right, she was genuinely good at gaming—back then she was a gaming addict teen, now she's a gaming addict married woman.

If Bai Liang was willing, during the League of Legends All-Star Game, they could duo as Ashe and support, dominate the bottom lane and slaughter everything.

As for whether she could join the mockery? How could Yang Mi possibly not be able to?

As the All-Star roster gradually solidified, Lin Gengxin, whom Bai Liang had originally invited, found himself inexplicably moved to Zhou Jielun's team.

Huh? No more clinging to the Immortal's leg? How are we supposed to win now?!

Screw it!

Wang Sicong was much the same—he wanted to play with Bai Liang, but there was clearly no room for him in Bai Liang's team.

He could only squeeze into Zhou Jielun's squad by displacing a minor celebrity with little fame.

Fortunately, he didn't mind—not playing with Bai Liang was fine; crushing him was still pretty satisfying.

Oh right, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni didn't manage to join Bai Liang's team—she was truly just a braggart player.

However, after seeing the three female celebrities confirmed on Bai Liang's side, the game's official hastily assigned him one more young female artist, creating an absurd lineup of one man and four women.

!

Just this roster alone felt like enough to generate buzz.

If Bai Liang won with four girls? Hmm~

When Zhou Jielun received both teams' rosters, he was stunned.

Bro, you've got a girls' team?

His side was all male celebrities; the other side, besides Bai Liang, was all women—everyone knew competitive gaming had few high-level female players.

Zhou Jielun: "Then I won't hold back then!"

With nothing better to do, I'll crush Bai Liang a couple times~—

Just as League of Legends prepared for a massive crossover with the entertainment industry, "Zhi Nu" was also airing vigorously.

Besides its premiere viewership of 1.5, subsequent episodes maintained steady ratings, gradually climbing.

The average viewership was about to surpass 2! Without doubt, the drama's peak viewership would break 3.

At this point, one could already say, "Booked the annual viewership champion in advance!"

Whenever the drama aired, it consistently generated no fewer than ten trending topics, truly deserving the label of a cultural phenomenon.

Even its ratings remained consistently above 8.

The success was so great that Mango TV regretted letting the drama stream on three platforms—they should've secured exclusive rights and aired it solely on Mango TV.

The costumes, makeup, and set design, along with the actors' performances, were all top-tier—yet this ironically made Xiao Zhao's performance as the female lead seem slightly underwhelming.

After all, the two top-tier actors in the drama were cheating~

When filming "Zhi Nu," Xiao Zhao had indeed worked hard, but her schedule was overwhelmingly packed.

She couldn't match Zhu Yilong's frantic, self-driven grind, nor could she match Bai Liang's effortless, overpowered ease.

Fortunately, she held on tightly, never truly dragging everyone down.

Speaking of which, Bai Liang's portrayal of a "jerk" male lead unexpectedly drew little backlash.

His character, Gu Tingye, had a concubine before marrying the female lead, Minglan—even fathering a child with her.

Such plotlines and character setups often upset "pure love" fans—but because Bai Liang played it, audiences accepted it with astonishing openness.

The comments were almost hilarious:

"Both on-screen and off-screen, you've got more than one, right? You're really something, Immortal!"

"Hiring him was perfect—zero sense of dissonance."

"The makeup made him look a bit older — it's like I'm getting a glimpse of what Da Xian will look like at thirty, some scummy middle-aged uncle~"

"The vibe is right!"

"Honestly, I think in real life Da Xian at thirty probably won't look as old as he does in the drama — right now, what's the difference between him and a college student?"

"Acting you can see with the naked eye. After climbing so high on the official's path, that weariness in his eyes — he really brought it to life!"

"To be honest, I'm actually starting to look forward to that 'Great Ming Splendor' now — what's it going to be like when Da Xian plays Zhu Zhanji, who rises step by step to become Emperor?"

"Da Xian, when are you going to win a TV Best Actor? Feels like it's about time, right?"

"Go bigger — Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, take them both at once!"

"."

The character Gu Tingye, in the early stages, came across as arrogant and unruly because of his family's conflicts — he was even slapped with the "rich wastrel" label.

But as the plot developed, he went through exile, joined the army, earned merit, and gradually transformed into a steady, dependable head of the Marquis's household.

This "prodigal son's return" arc of growth let the audience feel the character's authenticity and vitality.

With Know Whether's ratings officially breaking 3, Bai Liang's new breakout iconic moment has arrived.

Wearing a crimson robe, holding an umbrella, riding through the rain in the Eastern Capital.

In the bustling crowd, the umbrella's canopy carved out a transparent barrier, filtering the roar of the human tide into the muffled echoes of an underwater world.

His gaze was cold and weary.

Even the glory of wearing crimson at such a young age could not lift his eyelids by a single fraction more.

That air of casual indifference was like the cold detachment of someone born to stand above others.

The atmosphere is instantly maxed out!

Fans have dubbed this scene: A Dream of the Eastern Capital.

Still, Gu Tingye is no flawless saint — his methods are decisive, even slightly scheming; while commanding the court with sweeping authority, he also has a contrast of "ruthless outside, tender inside."

See, he just stepped down from court and is out there holding his umbrella doing his "Dream of the Eastern Capital" thing — if the audience keeps watching a bit longer, they'll see him bickering and playing the fool with Minglan.

And this screenshot taken from the TV drama has that viral, blowing-up-the-internet feel to it.

Bai Liang's fans are very keen on doing this sort of thing.

What does it mean to be the artist in showbiz who's best at creating atmosphere?

Those fans, somewhat assimilated by the capybara spirit, always burst with enormous enthusiasm when it comes to producing breakout iconic shots.

Beyond the fans' devotion, of course there's also Sister Yanzi's marketing contribution.

Pushing nothing but air only invites backlash — but when there's actual substance, giving it enough boost. That's the right way to do marketing.

Over on Weibo, people are still busy taking screenshots and switching wallpapers, while on another marketing battlefield, Bai Liang has been walking around with his umbrella on Douyin for a full day — looks like he's planning to keep strolling for a few more days.

Clearly, the so-called female-led drama can't constrain Bai Liang at all.

He's always been very good at "stealing scenes."

Over the years, who knows how many "victims" there have been.

Lin Ge Xin — poor guy got screwed over twice.

Luckily, Sister Xiao Zhao doesn't really mind either — she was almost falling apart herself, so having a thigh to cling to is actually a pretty sweet deal.

Just keep your fans in check a bit, don't let them run off yapping nonsense.

Monthly ticket rank twenty-two! Begging for monthly tickets!

(End of chapter)